Eagle Cross Country Teams Capture Region Titles, Qualify for State Meet

By Coach Andy Carr

11/1/14

The Milton High School varsity cross country teams captured both region titles and qualified for the GHSA state championship meets today at Boling Park in Canton, GA. The junior varsity teams concluded their successful seasons with the boys placing 1st & the girls second.

Varsity Girls

After not qualifying for the state meet by a mere three points in 2013, the Lady Eagles were on a mission and their race at the region meet was very gratifying as Milton captured its 2nd ever Region title. The Lady Eagles (1st-45 pts) used a team approach and a very strong & close group of finishers to easily outdistance eight scoring schools. The Eagles of Etowah (2nd-85 pts) narrowly beat-out perennial region power Walton (3rd-86 pts) and Woodstock (4th-101 pts). These schools all qualify for the state meet. Senior co-captain Amy Ruiz (7th-19:06), as she has done all season, led the Milton charge of finishers in the next 4 spots! With a spread of only 8 seconds from the Lady Eagles 1st to 5th scoring finishers, Milton’s team dominance was apparent. Following Ruiz were juniors Riley Burr (8th-19:10) & Charlotte Matt (9th-19:13), fellow senior co-captain Juanita Pardo (10th-19:13) & sophomore Marie Repasy (11th-19:14). Contributing big points towards the Lady Eagles region victory was junior Victoria Wagner (16th-19:45) who beat out many schools number two & number three finishers. Also running on the second-ever region championship team was junior Emily Velez (36th-20:45).

Varsity Boys

Continuing to build on an already successful season, the Eagles (1st-53 pts), by the slimmest of margins, captured their 4th-ever region title over arch-rival Walton (2nd-54 pts), Etowah (3rd-79 pts) & Cherokee (4th-117 pts). Each of those schools qualified for the state meet as well. In a race that was fast from the gun, Milton bided its time in the early going & steadily moved up to overwhelm the majority of schools in the race to win over 9 scoring schools. Junior Jack Bluth (5th-15:50) contended for the overall win for the majority of the race and again the Eagle championship effort. Just missing an automatic qualifying spot was senior co-captain Connor Cole (7th-16:01) and also finishing in the top-10 was freshman Sam Bowers (10th-16:04). Strong efforts by junior Matt McGorrey (15th-16:23) & senior co-captain Preston Meade (16th-16:24) concluded the scoring for Milton but did not secure the team title. Milton’s sixth-runner, junior John Fravel (21st-16:40) factored in by finishing ahead of Walton’s fifth & final scorer thus providing the margin of victory for the Eagles! A gutsy effort by a not-so-healthy junior Clay Marshall (32nd-16:50) closed out the championship effort!

JV Girls

After getting pefect-scored on in 2013, the Lady Eagles (2nd-43 pts) closed the gap on Walton (1st-27 pts) to claim the runner-up trophy. A huge and smart race by freshman Emily Bowers (1st-19:59) led an all-freshman team scoring effort! Bowers waited until the last 600 meters to take the lead and never looked back with a winning margin of 13-seconds at the finish! Milton dispatched 7 schools in their runner-up effort. Fellow freshman Sophie Matt (7th-21:02), Addy Prescott (10th-21:09), Mary Grace Coyle (12th-21:13) & Annie Gallagher (13th-21:19) help propel the Lady Eagles and conclude a very successful season. There were 184 finishers.

JV Boys

Facing their toughest opponent since the Knights Crossing meet in Virginia six-weeks ago, Milton (1st-34 pts) held-off a fierce challenge from region-rival Walton (2nd-39 pts) to conclude one of the best seasons ever! The Eagles finish the season losing to only one school over the season of eight meets and defeated 85 schools in the process! Sophomore Michael McCarthy (1st-16:43), having missed almost half the season due to a hip-injury, ran a smart & patient race and took the lead just before 800 meters to go to take the overall win by 11-seconds. After a McCarthy, a tight battle ensued with Walton taking the next three spots but Milton countered with an outstanding race by senior co-captain Mikey Newell (5th-17:02) and were followed up with top-10 finishes by junior Jacques Du Plessis (8th-17:11) & sophomore Valera Stettner (9th-17:11). With freshman Michael Malkowski (11th-17:21) besting Walton’s number four finisher, the Eagles secured the team win. This was the largest race of the day & saw 229 finishers.

The season concludes for the Milton Cross Country teams next weekend, November 8th, at the GHSA State Cross Country Championships, at Carrollton Elementary School in Carrollton, GA.

-Wb